Waris Ahluwalia (born 1974) is an Indian American designer and actor based in New York City. His company, House of Waris, has collaborated with a number of other designers and artists throughout the years.[1] House of Waris came into being after the owners of Maxfield's in Los Angeles noticed Ahluwalia's elaborate diamond rings and placed an order, which sold out.[2]

House of Waris, founded by Ahluwalia, is strongly influenced by the romance and history of ancient kingdoms.[4]

Ahluwalia, who is now based in New York City, travels frequently to Rome and Rajasthan, working with craftsmen in each city, from goldsmiths to diamond setters who once made the crests for royal families.[5] He was a CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Finalist in 2009, and in 2010 he was inducted as an official member of the CFDA.[6] The same year, Ahluwalia was placed on Vanity Fair's Best Dressed List, anointed British GQ's second best dressed man internationally and included in Vogue's 10 Most Impactful people list.[7][8][9] He also pens the column 'Love & Waris' on Style.com.[10]

In October 2010, House of Waris opened a pop up tea room under the High Line.[11] The pavilion of the pop up space housed apparel and accessories from designers like Rodarte, A.P.C., book publisher Assouline and jewelry by Ahluwalia himself. The garden area served tea from the Himalayas and food from NYC restaurants like Café Cluny and Bar Pitti.[12]

In response to the attacks in Mumbai in November 2008, Ahluwalia, along with Mortimer Singer and Tina Bhojwani, created To India, with Love, a book aiming to raise funds, spirits, and awareness for the victims of the attacks.[20] All of the proceeds went directly to Taj Public Service Welfare Trust in conjunction with Mumbai: We Got Your Back! (WGYB!), an organization founded by the three editors.[21][22]

In 2012, Ahluwalia contributed to the summer issue of The Paris Review, writing an essay on art featuring the work of Walton Ford and Ryan McGinley.[23] Ahluwalia also collaborated with the world-renowned restaurant from New Delhi, BUKHARA.[24] The restaurant opened an exclusive pop up in London at the Sheraton Park Tower in which Ahluwalia served as Creative Director.[25] The pop up ran for two weeks and donated a portion of the proceeds obtained to support the Elephant Family non-profit organization.[26]

As a part of his role as Global Ambassador for Starwood's Luxury Collection Hotels & Resorts, Ahluwalia wrote and produced the original short film, "HERE: a Film" by Luca Guadagnino. The film's team included Tilda Swinton (co-writer), Heidi Bivens (stylist), Jason Schwartzman (music) and Agyness Deyn (actress).[27][28]

In 2013, House of Waris launched a line for Valentine's Day, called 'Boo', referring to it as a term of endearment. To promote the line, Ahluwalia commissioned 9 artists and filmmakers to make short films titled "You're my Boo." The list of artists included Phillip Andelman, Casey Neistat, Brett Stabler, Ben Watts, and Hailey Gates; as well as John Forté, Mick Rock, Matthew Frost.[29][30]

Ahluwalia has also collaborated with Illesteva Eyewear on a line of sunglasses that launched April 2013.[31] The sunglasses are made in France and are available in four colors.[32]

In 2013, Ahluwalia was featured in a Gap "Make Love" campaign ad that received attention from consumers and the media alike.